This time, as I wandered through the ancient forest, I chose a comfortable path. Instead of charging straight through the bushes or rushing headlong in any direction, I took my time. Dawn was breaking over Ain, but the Wicked Woods still lingered in a gentle half-light. The towering peaks of the Great Ridge kept direct sunlight from reaching these parts. Only around mid-afternoon would the sun, having traveled halfway across the sky, illuminate this dense thicket. Even then, because of the thick canopy, an eternal realm of shadow dominates these places, even on the brightest summer day. My former self would have felt "right at home" here. But the current me was not yet a strong adept of Shadow Magic and, in essence, was little different from a regular traveler at the moment.
With every step that took me further from my camp, my anger towards Scully dimmed a bit more. But, having learned more about my own character after everything that happened in Tries, I knew this anger would linger for a long time. It would stay with me, like a callus, reminding me until I repaid that sex-obsessed Aussie. Only then would this "callus of anger" disappear and stop "rubbing" my brain.
Pushing thoughts of Scully to the furthest corner of my mind, I focused on more pressing matters. My "memory of the future" was not as clear as I would have liked. No, it wasn't damaged, or at least I didn't feel any damage. The issue was different.
Even on Earth, living the calm life of an ordinary person, I would sometimes forget what I had for dinner the previous night or where I'd left my car keys. I wouldn't say I had memory problems - everyone forgets things from time to time. But I certainly couldn't boast a perfect memory. So, grasping the full extent of the "memory of the future" that had been thrust upon me was nearly impossible. Especially when considering that in a single week, more events and adventures would occur to my "past self" than in several years of life on Earth.
Luckily, during the very first "flashback," back in the skyscraper with the Hellhound, I got an overview of the "future me's" exploits, like watching a film. That gave me a general understanding, but the details were murky. I kept remembering bits and pieces, nuances and specifics, but the vital pieces of information remained buried deep within the chest of my "future memory." For instance, recalling that the Sidhe are much more "friendly" towards Shadow adepts would have saved me a lot of stress if I had remembered it a bit earlier.
I wonder if honing my Mental talent will assist me in this matter. After all, Mental magic isn't just about manipulating others' thoughts, disorienting enemies, and other admittedly effective "tricks." It's also about self-improvement. I've already noticed that with an additional Star in this talent, it's slightly easier to maintain multiple Auras simultaneously. Even my memory feels sharper - not the memories involving my "past self," but my personal memory.
These thoughts moved the priority of developing Mental magic higher on my list. I had saved the bonus from the "Movement Against" achievement for Rune training. At the moment, the Fourth Star in rune understanding is still beyond my reach, so activating the accelerated training bonus wouldn't do me any good. But as soon as I earn one more Star in Runes - and theoretically, I know how to do it - I'll have to cultivate the skill of reading Divine Script by any means necessary. This is because, in my strategy, the most critical point was not the development of earthlings or even identifying and assisting Shards. The first question, which I believed had to be answered to stop the Invasion, was, "Why, despite the Divine Seals in the form of the five Inverted Towers still functioning, did demons manage to break into Ain?" And without knowing Ain's real history of the First War against the demons, I couldn't answer that question. One can't learn the true history, as opposed to what is written in divine texts, without being able to read Rune Script.
The deeper earthlings went in the Last Cycle through the Floors of the Divine Inverted Towers, the more often they found discrepancies between official history and what was actually written there. Because these Seals were essentially manifestations of gods' souls in the physical world, which for unknown reasons took the form of Inverted Towers, traveling through them could reveal fragments of genuine memories of the god whose Last Will formed the Tower. On the first Floors, these memories were written in the common language and almost didn't differ from what was stated in the scriptures. But the deeper you went, the more frequently Runes appeared in the common language text. From the fiftieth Floor, Rune Words started to appear. Starting from the seventy-fifth, the common language disappeared entirely, replaced fully by Rune Script. And when earthlings went that deep and deciphered some of those records, it became clear that not all the truth had been told in the official scriptures. For instance, my memory of the past of the Sidhe race is a result of such a "deciphering."
I'm confident that the lower Floors of the Divine Towers hold many secrets of Ain, and by descending as deep as possible, especially with the ability to read runic Script, I can uncover the truth, understand what happened in the past, and discover the real reasons for the War between Ain and Giard. Without a full understanding of why the demons are so eager to destroy Ain, I cannot stop them. Because even if I defeat the demonic legions of the Invasion and topple the Demon Princes, it's not a given that it will all end. After all, even after such a victory, the Demon Lords will remain on Giard. Beings, whose power and strength may equal, or even surpass, the gods of Ain. After all, they essentially won the previous War, wiping out most of Ain's gods. What's stopping them from sending more legions after the first setback, and again, and again... Until there's no one left in Ain capable of defending it.
Moreover, I know that as soon as the Inverted Towers fall, the Demon Lords will have a direct path to Ain, and they will be able to step into this world with the full force of their Personal Manifestation. Although, when I say "know"... A Demon Prince, when he realized he was winning the Last Battle, "enlightened" us about it. Oh, how he laughed, his words about Ain's future fate echoing over the battlefield. I still "remember" that.
But now I'm seriously considering changing my growth and development strategy. I might shift my focus slightly from Runes to Mental. Because, despite my main goal - in which the bonus from "Movement Against" invested in understanding Runes would be very helpful - reaching that is still far off. Even descending to the fiftieth floor of the Towers without being on the Legendary coil of the Spiral of Elevation is nearly impossible. Not to mention the deeper Floors where even a Mithril-ranked fighter would find it challenging! And even under the most favorable circumstances, achieving such will take quite some time. And before that's possible, I need to live until then, and experience shows that my survival can meet unpredictable obstacles at any moment.
A simple thought, really: "To do something in the future, you first have to live to see that future." And the bonus invested in the Understanding of Runes won't help me much with immediate survival. Encounters with Reygyana and Scully clearly showed how weak I am to get involved in truly serious games. Perhaps, if not for the new quester task, I would've invested the accelerated learning bonus in Mental right now and tried to earn its fourth Talent Star as soon as possible. But those darn questers, with their task to assemble the Word, have effectively blocked such a decision. However, I certainly won't learn to read Words within the given task timeframe, so maybe I should spend the accelerated learning on Mental after all? On the other hand, there was no rush at this particular moment. If I find good Mental techniques soon, I'll revisit this issue.
Tormented by such doubts, I never forgot where I was for a second. I looked around carefully, watching where I stepped. The Aura of Perception, enhanced by the orcish belt, was continuously maintained by me. But even such an amplification of senses wouldn't have been needed to detect the sharp scent of burnt flesh when the wind direction suddenly changed. It doesn't smell like a campfire. It doesn't smell like meat roasted over fire, either. It's a distinct scent, a mix of burnt skin, singed hair or wool, and, of course, scorched flesh.
My first impulse was to turn in the opposite direction from the source of the smell and get as far away from it as quickly as possible. The Wicked Woods doesn't particularly encourage the curiosity of its visitors; one might say it quickly teaches you the opposite. But I was currently playing the role of an ordinary traveler, so, feigning curiosity, I drew my dagger and, staying low to the ground, headed towards the source of the smell. All the while, I genuinely hoped that the Sidhe watching me would appreciate my "all too natural" behavior.
However, just five minutes later, I realized they didn't. Not at all.
Six dead bodies lay on a barely noticeable animal trail. They had walked in single file, as experienced trackers should, and had fallen in the same manner. An entire squad of the Forest Guard was dead. They were, apparently, killed by a single spell. From the position of the bodies, I could tell – the Sidhe didn't even realize what killed them. The attack was a complete surprise to them. Which is unusual in itself. Who could catch the best trackers and forest experts in all of Ain off guard like that?
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
Without getting closer, I assessed the nature of the injuries. My first impression was correct; they were killed by one spell. Burnt, uneven concentric circles radiated from the chest of each. The heart of each of the six Forest Guards was scorched by magic. Yet the injuries weren't typical for Fire spells. The burns on the dead bodies had a slightly different nature than those caused by fire. Taking a step closer, I noticed new details and realized that the forest guards were killed by a spell from the School of Lightning. This discovery immediately made everything clear:
"Reygyana..." My lips whispered soundlessly.
I don't doubt for a moment that this is the doing of her small palms. I just don't understand what the Sidhe did to upset this peculiar girl. Maybe they obstructed her path or just happened to be in her way. I thought I was the unlucky one today, but at my feet lay six individuals who were far, far more unfortunate.
On the other hand, these corpses perfectly illustrate what could have happened to me if the dialogue with Rey had followed a different, more hostile scenario. So, you make grand plans about stopping the Demon Invasion. And then, one random encounter in the woods, one wrong word spoken – and you're lying there, stinking of burnt flesh somewhere in the forest's depths. I even shivered, realizing that such an outcome in my dialogue with Reygyana was entirely possible.
Squatting a meter away from the nearest body, I pushed my Aura of Perception to the limit. A closer examination revealed nothing new. No clues, except for hearts burned by lightning. Despite the Sidhe being masters of Natural and Spatial magic, they are very vulnerable to Fire and especially to Lightning. Whoever killed them clearly knew this weakness of the forest people.
If I were to decapitate the dead, the local branch of the Alchemists' Guild would give me at least a hundred gold for each head. But I didn't even consider doing that. It's one thing for the Sidhe to find a squad of their guards simply killed and a completely different situation if these corpses were beheaded. I don't need the Wicked Woods as my sworn enemy. Moreover, to fend off the threat of the demonic Invasion, all of Ain's forces will be required, and I still plan to negotiate with the Sidhe eventually. At this stage, even a simple conversation with them would probably result in, at best, nothing for me. But once I complete the task of finding the hidden altars of Seguna and receive the fourth Star in the Talent of Shadows, mastering the "Player," they surely won't chase me away and might even listen.
Given that the Sidhe are a rather small population, they take the gear of their warriors very seriously. This group is no exception, being very well-equipped. The problem is that their equipment is useless to me. Their armor is made of wood and leaves, specially treated with rituals. From the outside, it looks beautiful but also somewhat insubstantial. Yet this impression of insubstantiality is entirely misleading. The Sidhe's armor is on par with the human one made of Avalonium or Valirium. However, for a human, their armor is useless as it is specifically designed for wearing by the forest people. The Border Guards' weapons also contain no metal; even their swords are wooden. Yet, such weapons won't break when striking steel, as they're imbued with Sidhe magic. As for the artifacts and amulets on the bodies, they are also useless and even dangerous for me.
Drawing an analogy, this Border Guard squad is probably equivalent to fighters of the lower ranks of the Precious coil. Had I come across a similarly fallen unit of humans, I would have greatly enriched myself by plundering their bodies. I'd be at least seven thousand gold richer, selling all their belongings. It was all the more bitter for me to get up and, after taking a few steps back, simply walk away without touching the bodies or taking anything at all. However, I can always make money. But dying because of my own greed, had I taken something and then ran into another squad, that's entirely possible.
Suppressing my greed, I circled the Sidhe's death site in a wide arc and continued in the chosen direction. As far as I "remembered" the map of the continent compiled by Morpheus' group, the width of the Wicked Woods in this area was about fifty kilometers, meaning I only had about forty kilometers, perhaps even less, to go. In theory, I could cover it in a single day. Moreover, as I noticed, the further I move away from the foothills of the Great Ridge, the clearer and somewhat brighter the forest becomes. Plus, the weather is relatively good today, allowing me to maintain my direction more confidently. Although, I'll probably have to spend another night in this unfriendly forest.
Two hours after leaving the slain group of Sidhe behind, I caught myself realizing that during my entire journey through the Wicked Woods, I hadn't encountered a single beast or monster living here. This could, of course, be explained by the Border Guard or Rey scaring off all the "wildlife" for many kilometers around. But still - this was an unprecedented stroke of luck for me.
No sooner had I thought this than I had to brake sharply to avoid running face-first into a web stretched between two forest giants. And not just any web, but one much thicker and stronger than the ones spun by the regular spiders I was used to on Earth. This one looked not like a thin thread but like a transparent rope as thick as a pinkie finger. My "past self" had seen such traps before, and more than once, in dungeons inhabited by giant harakandids. Creatures that indeed looked like spiders but were much larger. A very unpleasant opponent, especially considering I had lost my spear. If this web was left by a Wootz harakandid, I'm not sure I can handle such a threat with just a dagger in hand. And they can be not only Wootz but even grow to have sapphire-tinged chitin.
As far as I remember, most harakandids are ambush predators, so if I don't disturb the web, I might avoid encountering them altogether. I slowed down, looking more attentively into the forest. Thanks to the orcish belt, my Aura of Perception worked better, and I spotted the next trap not up close but three steps away. By nature, harakandids possess instinctive Illusion magic, concealing their hunting threads. So, noticing their web from a couple of steps away at my rank was a very good result.
My progress forward slowed to a snail's pace. Before shifting my foot, I scrutinized the ground where I intended to step. Such caution allowed me to avoid the spiderwebs. But ten minutes in, I realized something was amiss. The web threads suspended between trees seemed to form a structure rather than being haphazardly spun. I halted, closed my eyes, and tried to remember each step I took and every direction change. Unfortunately, my paranoia wasn't unfounded this time. From the moment I noticed the first web, I'd been walking in a broad but ever-narrowing spiral. A spiral with nothing good waiting for me at its center. Silently cursing the cunning of the local arachnids, I turned around and began retracing my steps, intending to exit this trap and skirt around the dangerous area, even if it added three or four hours to my journey.
As soon as I reached the first web I'd noticed and relaxed my shoulders, a distinctive sound warned me of danger approaching from above. Without looking up, I quickly rolled to the side, discarding my bag of belongings. Just as I did, powerful mandibles snapped where my neck had been a moment ago. Realizing it'd missed, the giant spider, its body the size of a plump pig, immediately let go of the web it dangled from and soundlessly landed on the ground. Or rather, it gently set down on all eight legs. Six cloudy faceted eyes fixed on me.
The warning from my "Pure Mind" pin resounded in my head. An overpowering apathy and unwillingness to act gripped me. My hands limply fell to my sides. This involuntary movement saved me; the dagger in my hand jabbed painfully into my thigh. The sharp pang cleared my mind instantly.
"So, you're also a mentalist," I whispered, keeping my gaze on the forest giant ambush predator that had descended from the canopy.
For a while longer, the harakandid drilled into me with its stare, trying to lull me into a hypnotic slumber. But the spider's magic power, its chitinous shell gleaming like wootz, wasn't strong enough to impose its will on me. My three-and-a-half Stars of Talent in Mental were crucial in thwarting it.
Realizing that its hypnotic attempt had failed, the spider clicked with its chelicerae and tucked in its legs. The main threat of these creatures lay in those limbs. Each was over two meters long, with the external side of the legs clearly displaying chitinous serrations sharp and sturdy enough to tear through steel chainmail.
Scanning my surroundings, I quickly located what I was looking for. As the spider lunged at me, I evaded its attack with a sideways roll and picked up a large, over-a-meter-long, dried branch from the ground.
"Discharge!"
"Discharge!"
It worked the second time, and the branch in my hand ignited from the contact with the artificial lightning. Of course, such a rudimentary weapon couldn't harm the harakandid's chitinous armor, but like any forest dweller, this spider should fear fire. It's an instinctive, irrational dread shared by all forest creatures. My assumptions were confirmed; just poking the burning branch towards its head made it retreat a step and crouch on its hind legs.
While the giant spider creature hesitated, I returned the dagger to its sheath and, picking up another long stick, lit it as well. Then I began to wave the doubled fire in front of the harakandid's head. And with this waving, I had to be as careful as possible. Because right now, the spider fears fire, but if it feels real pain, it might forget its instincts and attack.
The eyes of the wootz harakandid, as well as its venom, are quite valuable alchemical reagents. If it weren't for my encounters first with Rey and then with Scully, I might have taken a risk and tried to get them. But the lessons fate taught me today were heeded, and instead of attacking, I slowly retreated. The ambush predator also backed away, apparently deciding that the hunt failed since its surprise attack did not succeed and its prey was far from defenseless.
So we stepped away, not taking our eyes off each other until the harakandid decided it had enough, shot a web upwards, and fled to the canopy of the forest giant. As soon as that happened, I dashed to my bag and, picking it up, ran in the opposite direction. Harakandids are solitary, so for the next couple of kilometers, there was no fear of running into another web.
I ran straight for about five minutes, making my way through windfalls, trying first to move along the tracks left earlier, and then I turned off that path. After calming down a bit, I stopped and heard the murmur of water. Following that sound, I came to a turbulent stream carrying its purest waters down the slope. Remembering that the best way to get out of the foothill forests is to follow the flow of water, I walked along its bank, hoping that the stream would lead me out of this Da'Nnan's forest.